Mercer County immigrants wait for their day of freedom

Elia Espaillat, far right, from the Dominican Republic, reacts as she arrives to attend a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Tuesday, July 2, 2013, in New York. Espaillat's grand-daughter was among four hundred and fifty people sworn in as citizens during three ceremonies throughout the day to mark the July 4th observance. Across the country, 7,800 people will become citizens at similar ceremonies this week. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

A 21-year-old girl from Costa Rica dreams about graduating from Mercer Community College after her two-year temporary resident visa expires in 2014.

A 35-year-old man from Guatemala dreams about having fair wages after working for more than 80 hours a week at a restaurant in Ewing.

Two parents from Costa Rica dream of the day they can provide financial support for their children’s college careers, one studying to be a pediatrician and the other to be a cosmetologist, and not just moral support.

These are four people out of the 11 million undocumented immigrants that came to the United States in search for a better life and independence from financial burdens back in their countries that deprived them from accomplishing their dreams.

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As news broke last week that the Senate had approved the comprehensive immigration bill by a vote of sixty-eight to thirty-two, hope was restored for these four individuals that may be granted citizenship — and their own Independence Day — if the House of Representatives pass the immigration reform by Aug. 2013.

“I’m recognized as a good worker by employers and a good student. All I want is the chance to get financial aid or scholarships to help me with the costs of paying tuition as a foreigner,” 21-year-old Nancy said.

The bill would allow undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. prior to Dec. 31, 2011 to qualify for legal status. Legal status would give these individuals the chance to have a driver’s license, work for a decent wage, access to public libraries and schools and it would give the U.S. an additional $1.5 trillion gross domestic product over 10 years.

Currently in Mercer County there is an immigrant population of 73,000, 15,000 of whom are unauthorized immigrants. According to national and state trends, 80 percent of these immigrants are from Latin America.

A former 35-year-old Guatemalan employee at a restaurant in Ewing is currently filing a complaint against his employer along with 15 other employees that claim they were paid less than $5 per hour.

“I know he (the employer) is doing something wrong by not paying us, but what could I do? Without documents if I want to work I know I’m going to be taken advantage of. He would pay me $400 a week for working more than 80 hours,” the Guatemalan former employee said.

Executive Director of Latin American Legal Defense Maria Juega says this is a one of the most common complaints in her office and it is all because they don’t have a piece of paper that can protect them from injustice.

“There is no way this can continue. They all need to come out of the shadows and have the privileges they have been working so hard for,” Juega said.